Russuomi
The High Kingdom of Russuomi (Full name: the High Kingdom of Rus, Suomi and Perm, also sometimes referred to as Rus-Suomi, or Russo-Finland) is a large although mostly baren state located in the ancestral lands of Finland, Vladimiran Rus, and Perm. It was born out of the personal union between Vladimiran Rus and the Kingdom of Suur-Suomi (Greater Finland). History The actual union took place between Rus and Suomi occurred roughly a century after the unification of Suomi and the Torontovichian Coup. The Unification of Suur-Suomi Suomi's origins are more mysterious, having been more-or-less lost to the ages. It is known, however, that the High Chief of Kvens was the first to attempt the unification of eastern Scandinavia, and his sons would eventually succeed in creating the Suomi, even going on to conquer parts of Novgorodian Rus from the Rurik Dynasty. Shortly after the conquests of Novgorod, Ryazan and Perm, the Suomenusko Reformation began, which unified the beliefs of several different pagan tribes into one religion. This unified kingdom was eventually renamed to "Suur-Suomi", or "Greater Finland". The Torontovichian Coup In the early 12th Century, before the Mongol conquests and shortly after the formation of Suomi, the ambitious Grand Prince of Vladimir, Turont, sought to claim the Russian throne for himself. Seeing an opportunity after the Ruriks had lost a war with the King of the Finns, he hired an army of four-thousand mercenaries in what could best be described as a non-violent coup. With his massive host, the grand prince marched into the Rurik's great hall and proclaimed himself king. The Rurik King of Rus had no choice but to accept, as his armies were far too battered to stage any sort of formal military resistiance. Discontent among the Ruriks and the collapse of the Orthodox Church in Constantinople would eventually lead to several civil wars in Ruthenia. These wars ended in the capture of Kiev by Iconoclast zealots, the short-lived Kingdom of Kelbanian Ruthenia, and the sale of said Kelbanian lands to Vladimiran Rus. After the death of Turont, the kingdom's rulership fell to Queen Gradislava the Strong of Rus, the kingdom's last Orthodox Christian ruler. A series of diplomatic marriages between Suur-Suomi and Rus eventually led to their king and queen, respectively, being joined in holy matrimony. The two kingdoms' personal union began in the late-12th Century, a period during which the kingdom's wealth grew exponentially as a result of the expanding European fur trade. The Mongol Conquest of Perm Russuomi went through a sort of dark age during the Mongol Invasion of the early thirteenth century. Kievan Iconoclasts rebelled against their pagan rulers, which gave the Mongols the moment of weakness they needed to invade. The invasion indirectly aided the ongoing Kievan Rebellion, and the subsequent creation of the Theocracy of Kyiv when Russuomi forces were forced to withdraw. Most of the records before this time were destroyed as a result. Roughly half of these lands were reconquered during the First Reconquest which took place from 1218 to 1304. Shortly after, the two kingdoms were officially unified into the High Kingdom of Russuomi. Diplomatic Relations The Kingdom of Khazaria Since the Great Russuomi Reconquest (now more commonly called the First Russuomi Reconquest) in 1218, Russuomi has been close allies with the Jewish Kingdom of Khazaria. Through cooperation during the Second Reconquest, the two kingdoms managed to push the Mongols back, regaining the majority of their eastmost provinces and splintering the Mongol Empire into the khanates of Kazan and Siberia. The Baltijos Imperija The Baltijos Imperija was a longtime rival for both Rus and Suomi prior to unification. Its conquest of Estonia and establishment of the Baltic Brothers holy order began the ill-fated Northern Crusade, which ended in Estonia and the Duchy of Pskov being returned to Russuomi. The Baltijos Imperija proved unable to handle frequent attacks by the Hungarian Empire and Danelagh, and soon began to collapse. Russuomi established the Duchy of Kurland in western Latvia, which quickly grew to encompass all of the region including Riga. The Mongol Khanate As previously mentioned, roughly a third Rus and Suur-Suomi were conquered in their entirety by the Mongol Khanate at one point. The First Reconquest took advantage of the empire's internal squabbling to seize back some land, whereas the Second Reconquest splintered the Khanate into three different successor states, with no individual state posing any real threat to Khazaria or Russuomi. The Mongol Khanate's only remaining western lands make up what was once Volga Bulgaria. The Mongols managed to maintain most of their territory north of Ming China. The Sibir Khanate The Sibir Khanate splintered off from the Mongol Khanate during the Second Reconquest. The installed Russuomi garrison was convinced by rebel groups into breaking off from the Mongol Khanate and becoming an independent semi-nomadic, Suomenusko state. Russuomi, seeing this as a treacherous act, declared war on the khanate immediately and took back all the stolen territory it had lost during the Mongol Invasion. A subsequent war led to the complete annexation of the khanate at a later date. The Kazan Khanate Kazan was one of the last remaining Islamic khanates, which broke free of the Buddhist Mongol Khanate during the Second Reconquest. Most of the khanate was conquered by Russuomi in the late 15th Century, though many of its inhabitants immigrated to the Khazak Khanate once it began its decline. The Yaik Khanate Yaik broke off from the Mongol Khanate later, after the Second Reconquest. Not much is known about it, but it was conquered in 1528 by Queen Dianna the Valkyrie. The (Reformed) Khanate of Cumania The Khanate of Cumania reformed under a pagan aristocracy with a religion not too dissimilar to Suomenusko. However, over many years of war with the Russuomi, the Khanate's last stronghold of Nogay was conquered by Khazaria, who promptly renamed it to "Yesgay". The Siberian Tribes The various tribes which once occupied Eastern Siberia, most notably Buryatia, were conquered throughout the Late 16th and Early 17th Centuries during a nationalist movement that saught to see Russuomi stretch from the Baltic all the way to the Pacific Ocean. It was ultimately successful. Russuomi's Government Russuomi has a history of decentralized government. Below the king, there are dozens of chiefs elected by the peasants of a specific province. Russuomi's monarchy was once described as "rule-through-merit", with the nobles electing a king amongst themselves from the Russian or Finnish royal families. As the two houses gradually merged into one, they have slowly begun to favour towards a more centralized policy, usually with the eldest child inheriting. Contrary to what one might expect from an eastern nation, female rulers are permitted and inherit on the same grounds as men. They are also fully eligible for election as provincial chiefs. Since the start of the early Colonial Era, efforts have been made by the monarch to centralize the state in order to grow its power and influence. These have been mostly successful, and have met with surprisingly little hostility from the chieftains. Recently, Russuomi has switched to a more administrative form of monarchy to help with the management of its many territories on the other side of the continent. These efforts have so far been successful, and many new territories have been brought into the fold. Several holdings in Alaska, California and Despite its relative technological backwardness in comparisson to western European countries, Russuomi boasts one of the largest armies in the world and is continually expanding its borders into Siberia through colonization. This, combined with several successful campaigns against Kyiv, the Mongol Khanate and its successors, have grown the state substantially. No powerful state is without its enemies, however, and there may come a day when Russo-Finnic mettle is put to the test. And when that day comes, Russuomi shall be ready.